A hernia is a weakness in a particular anatomical surface which allows an internally contained organ to protrude. Ventral hernias are a type of hernia resulting primarily from weaknesses in the abdominal wall. Hernias of the groin region, or inguinal hernias, are a separate type of abdominal wall hernia which are repaired with a different subset of surgical equipment and techniques. Repair of ventral hernia defects conventionally utilized open primary sutured repair. However, recurrence rates of ventral hernias after an open primary suture procedure were determined to be unacceptably high. Open mesh repair utilizes a synthetic or biologic mesh to correct the hernia but is still performed as an open invasive procedure. Open mesh repair has recently been replaced by laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, mesh repair. Recurrence rates have been shown to be lower after laparoscopic ventral hernia repair with respect to open repair. Laparoscopic type hernia repair reduces dissection and destruction of the structurally important fascial layers of the abdominal wall via the use of small incisions in the fascia, through which trocars are placed for instrumentation. Unfortunately, even small (i.e. 5 mm) incisions can potentially develop into new hernias, especially in patients with a demonstrated propensity to developing fascial breakdown. Therefore, fewer trocars utilized to perform an operation generally results in a lower recurrence rate. Conventional laparoscopic surgical techniques for ventral hernia repair commonly require up to six trocars and corresponding incisions for proper manipulation of instruments and mesh implants.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for systems and methods that reduce the number of trocars necessary for minimally invasive implant-based ventral hernia repair.